GranCabrio

Italians have a reputation for creating beautiful objects. They’re a nation that seemed to sacrifice almost everything for the sake of aesthetics; older Italian cars had a formidable reputation for being undriveable, unrealiable, but one look and you were quite possibly in love.

I should know, I am Italian. Although the most beautiful thing I have ever created was a wooden birdfeeder for a grade school project. But I digress. The motorvehicle over which you are currently drooling is the Maserati GrandCabrio Sports. The GranCabrio was no lay-about, so quite why they needed to make it faster is beyond me.

Maserati has announced that its new GranCabrio will cost £95,630 (OTR) in the UK. The GranCabrio is currently available for order and the first right-hand drive models will go on sale in UK showrooms from April 2010 onwards.

The Maserati GranCabrio, which is more of a convertible version of the GranTurismo S, comes powered with a 4.7-liter V8 engine that delivers 323 kW (440 hp) and 490 Nm of torque. This beauty can accelerate from 0-62 mph in 5.4 seconds to a top speed of 175 mph, all thanks to a six-speed ZF automatic gearbox.

This new model of Maserati offers customers a choice of 14 different exterior colors, in addition to an assortment of leather upholstery and a variety of dashboard trims.

Customers also have the option to buy a bespoke four-piece leather luggage set and a trolley suitcase which can be fixed to the rear seats.

The Maserati GranCabrio was supposed to be unveiled officially at next month’s Frankfurt Auto Show but just to add to the enthusiasm, Maserati has gone ahead and made the details public a month before. The Pininfarina-designed GranCabrio has been beautifully converted into an open soft-top machine that comes with a cloth roof which deploys over the four-passenger compartment, eventually keeping the weight down. Just for the records, the Maserati GranCabrio is the first four-seat convertible in the history of the company. Maserati proudly boasts about the longest wheelbase (on the market) of the car. Under the hood you find a 4.7-liter 433-hp V8 from the GT S which is mated to a ZF six-speed automatic. You surely need to be at the Maserati corner in Frankfurt to see this beauty in “person”. [via Autoblog]